Spectrum Will Make Its Home Security Gear Useless In Early February

Internet service provider Spectrum has announced that it is no longer offering its Home Security plan to new customers and that it will drop its existing security subscribers in early February. The news is an unwelcome surprise for customers who paid out hefty amounts for proprietary home security equipment that can't be used with any other platforms.

Spectrum is best known for offering Internet service in a number of states, but it also offered customers the option of adding on its Spectrum Home Security, a plan that included various home security equipment like cameras and door sensors. Customers were given the option of adding on a larger package of security gear, including a wireless smoke detector, glass break detector, lamp module, motion detectors, and more.

According to a note recently spied on the Spectrum website, it will stop offering its Home Security service to existing customers on February 5, at which point it will also end support for their equipment. This hardware can't be used with other existing smart home platforms, meaning all of the gear will be completely useless by the start of next month.

Spectrum, for those unaware, is the result of the Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks merger — it is owned by Charter Communications and is a major service provider in the US. The company claimed to Gizmodo that only a small percentage of its customers would be impacted by this change in service and that it was working to offer them a 'smooth transition.'

The nature of Internet service in the United States means that many customers live in a region where Spectrum is their only option for Internet service. This essentially leaves the customers without any recourse — at least one claimed to news agency KSBY that Spectrum refused to apply a credit for the cost of the home security equipment to his account, leaving him with around $900 of essentially worthless hardware.

Instead of offering customers a credit for their equipment, Spectrum says it will give them a deal on transitioning to Ring's home security products — instead of paying $340 for a 7-piece Ring security kit, they can get it for free of they pay for a year of monitoring instead.